Gun Control: The European Perspective

Non-Violence, a sculpture
Non-Violence, a sculpture by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd. (Photo: Francois Polito)

I’m currently traveling across the USA on a lecture tour. And one thing that’s consistent from coast to coast  — from Palo Alto to St. Louis to Pittsburgh to Newark — is that Americans are reeling from last week’s school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

A few months ago, one of my Spanish tour guide friends emailed me an explanation of the red tape required to own a gun in Spain. As our country renews its gun-control debate, it feels timely to share this example of how a country at the opposite extreme from the USA grapples with the same issue:

In the last few weeks, I’ve been going through a process to acquire a gun license here in Spain. My reasons are very noble: legacy. My dad owns two shotguns from the days when he was a hunter, and now he’s getting old and doesn’t want them anymore. But I do. In Spain, you cannot own a gun if you don’t have a license, and this process takes several weeks or even months. I’ll summarize the steps I’ve taken to get it, but keep in mind this is for a shotgun or rifle exclusively. A license for a handgun is almost impossible to get.

  1. Get an appointment in the Firearm Control Police Delegation in my province.
  2. Go through a psycho-technical evaluation. You can get one in certain specialized clinics. The cost is €50, and you go through sight and hearing checks and — most importantly — an evaluation by a psychologist stating you are fit to own a gun.
  3. Pay the license fees and the exam fees, a total of €100, and choose a date for the tests (they run them twice a month). Sign a disclaimer and responsibilities clause. You are also required to buy a safe for your guns.
  4. Study the 400 potential questions and answers that will be part of the test. You’ll be asked 20 out of those 400, and you need 16 correct answers in order to pass onto the second part: handling a gun, loading, and shooting.
  5. Go on the date chosen to the Olympic Shooting Federation, where you will take both tests, written and handling. They will give you the shotgun for the shooting part, only two shots per person.
  6. Pass both the written and shooting tests.
  7. You’re now good to go. You have a license and you can buy a shotgun or a rifle. (But never automatic rifles – those are only for the Army.)

Now the catch-22: You need to shoot a gun in order to prove you’re fit enough to own one. However, you don’t have a license yet — so you can’t buy, rent, or borrow one (legally). What most people do is practice with a friend or relative during the hunting season or at a skeet shooting range.

The entire process is supervised by the Guardia Civil (national police force, similar to Italy’s Carabinieri or France’s Gendarmerie; they are the department who issues the licenses). The only private contractors involved are the clinic for the evaluation and the shooting range.

I have spent €150, I had to take a day off work to pass the tests, I had to put in a few hours of study and practice on how to handle a gun, and only then did I get a license valid for 5 years. It doesn’t even mean I can go hunting now; to do that, I would have to apply for a separate permit at any hunting ground in my area.

PS: Even though now I have my guns, I don’t think I’ll ever use them. I don’t even have any ammo at home. I simply like the idea of keeping my father’s guns.

At first glance, Spanish gun regulation sounds comically complex. However, if you really think about it, shouldn’t it be at least a little difficult to own a deadly weapon? I’m not saying that the United States should become as restrictive as Spain is. But as travelers, we have the opportunity — even the responsibility — to find inspiration in the ways other places deal with the same societal challenges. And for a complete look at the issue, here are the results:

In a typical year, 15,000 Americans are killed by guns (not including suicides). In Spain — a country with, admittedly, one-seventh of our population — most years see fewer than 100 deaths.

Europe has, to varying degrees, gun control policies closer to Spain’s than to ours. And the Europe-wide numbers are also compelling: In a typical year, around 1,500 Europeans are killed by gun violence (not including suicides). That’s one-tenth the number of deaths here — even though the European Union has 180 million more people than we do.

Numbers are a cold and cynical way to consider such a gut-wrenching issue. But assuming all you care about are the numbers, consider it this way: By opting for our less restrictive gun laws, the United States is choosing to sacrifice an additional four 9/11’s worth of its citizens — every single year. Including those 17 precious lives snuffed out last week at a Florida high school.

Some people say that the problem isn’t gun access; it’s our pop culture’s glorification of violence. But the European numbers tell a different story. Europe watches the same violent (and American) movies and TV shows that we do. And somehow, they aren’t killing each other in such high numbers. Could it be that Europe’s laughably restrictive gun-control policies actually work as intended?

Yes, our Second Amendment must be respected. But, like all aspects of our Constitution, it’s open to interpretation. It’s hard to imagine that the Founding Fathers had assault rifles in mind. Spain’s Constitution does not guarantee the right to bear arms. And yet, Spaniards do have that right — they simply have to go through the proper channels. Isn’t there some compromise to let Americans exercise their constitutional right to own guns…without allowing them to own all the guns?

As America renews its gun-control debate once again, it’s time to look beyond our borders to see how other countries grapple with the same challenges. Of course, Europe doesn’t have all the answers. But it feels like Parkland has triggered a sea change in America’s resolve to finally address gun control in a meaningful way. And, as always, Europe is standing by to offer us some pointers.

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